Last season, the Pacific Division only sent three teams into the playoffs, with five going to the Central. It was a close, with the Calgary Flames tying the St. Louis Blues. The Blues went on their wildly improbable run and beat the Flames by the narrowest of margins. The Minnesota Wild finished only one point higher.
It's not just that the Vancouver Canucks ended the season six points back. Three teams were all ahead by that six or seven - and the Utah Mammoths were only one back of Vancouver themselves. It seems unlikely that the Canucks will make any major moves between now and the start of the year. If they want to make the playoffs, the only guarantee is getting into the top three of the Pacific. Can they?
Starting at the top:
Mitch Marner brings a lot of firepower with him. The sign-and-trade gave Vegas the opportunity to lock him up for eight years, but cost them a very good centre in Nicholas Roy. "Very good" is a relative term, of course. Roy is a bottom-six centre, and moving him to Toronto means Alex Pietrangelo's $8.8 million can go onto the long-term injured reserve list and make the team salary cap compliant.
Roy wasn't the only player the Golden Knights lost, moving out long-time defender Nicolas Hague in exchange for Colton Sissons and Jeremy Lauzon. Hague had dropped to the third pair last year, and replacing him with the $3 million cheaper Lauzon doesn't hurt much. Hague is better offensively, but that's not what they're missing. Sissons replacing Roy is a much steeper drop.
Adin Hill being backed up by Akira Schmid is a perfectly decent pairing. And that's the weak point. The forwards are extremely dangerous, and their play style gives their goaltenders plenty of support. This is not going to be an easy team to catch.
The Kings have apparently decided that if they reached 105 points last year, they don't need to change anything this year. Someone should have introduced them to the 2023-24 Canucks.
Not entirely true, perhaps, but signing Corey Perry and Joel Armia isn't scaring anyone. For the most part, it looks like they are hoping for continued growth from Quinten Byfield and Alex Laferriere. It's not an outrageous gamble, but sooner or later Anže Kopitar is going to actually age. We just don't know when, but I suspect someone will find a painting in his attic one day.
The Kings spread their ice time pretty evenly among their top three lines, which limits their top-end talent. On the other hand, the opposing coach needs to decide who to try to stop. There are rumours of some players not liking the team's playing style, especially after their third straight first-round exit. But if they win, those complaints will vanish.
That style - pulling the forwards back to support their defence - is used for a reason. How bad is their defence? They lost Vladimir Gavrikov, their top defenceman, and traded away Jordan Spence. They filled those spots with... Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin? Oof.
If Drew Doughty is healthy all year, 22-year-old Brandt Clarke leaps forward, and Michael Anderson and Joel Edmundson tighten up their games, and Dumoulin and Cecei aren't forced into second-pair roles, they can be decent. Putting question marks on all six of your starting defencemen isn't a great sign.
Darcy Kuemper was excellent last season, though again behind Jim Hiller's defence-first style. Veteran Anton Forsberg is a new face backing him up, and having Pheonix Copely and Erik Portillo in reserve is good enough to work.
Very good forwards, good goaltending, and a lot of hope in between.
Not a lot changed here, either. And why should it? The Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Final two years running. That's worth a lot. The biggest issue with a team like Edmonton is that it is very top-heavy. Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are not going to be underpaid, which means a limited amount of money left over for everyone else.
That shows in their ice time. Four forwards averaged 19 minutes or more, and no others passed the 15-minute mark. Victor Arvidsson left, and Andrew Mangiapane is coming in. Mangiapane is fine, but is he the solution for a reliable finisher to go with Draisaitl? Because it sure ain't Curtis Lazar.
The forwards are pretty much a known factor. McDavid, Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman are going to do their thing. Beyond them, the most important player on the ice might be Mattias Ekholm. Evan Bouchard needs the stable Ekholm beside him as a safeguard. Bouchard is a very good offensive defenceman, but boy howdy, does he forget his job on defence.
That leaves very little for the goaltending. And it shows.
Now, I'm not going to jump on Stuart Skinner, here. He isn't as bad as his reputation suggests, but the Oilers' play style does him zero favours. He and Calvin Pickard are the likely pair going into the season, because they cost the team less than $4 million combined. There isn't much cap room to improve, so they did the next best thing and changed the goaltending coach.
If we're going to talk cheap goaltenders, Calgary has no goaltender making a million dollars. Dustin Wolf proved himself last season, coming second in Calder Trophy voting. Hard to tell how much of a risk it is to rely on him this season, but they certainly want a veteran. The Flames are sitting on $15 million in cap space right now, and they won't need that much to sign Connor Zary.
They could use some of that space on the defence. It's open speculation that Rasmus Andersson is getting moved at some point this year, and that's going to hurt. Frankly, the 19-year-old Zayne Parekh should probably be a coin flip to get 20 games this season.
Up front, getting Morgan Frost re-signed was needed, because there just isn't much else there. Jonathan Huberdeau getting some of his mojo back is nice, but Nazem Kadri as your top centre speaks volumes. They need Zary to step up to finish anywhere close to a playoff spot this season.
If anything, this is a team to watch out for. Perhaps their least surprising move was changing Greg Cronin for Joel Quinneville behind the bench. The team improved by 21 points between his first and second years, but there was also a rebellion in the ranks. Anaheim's been out of the playoffs for a long time now, and they need a push before fan interest vanishes.
They made some big moves, too. Stalwart John Gibson is gone from between the pipes, leaving the net to Lukáš Dostál. Behind him is probably Ville Husso, though Petr Mrázek will make his case. Who knows - maybe Edmonton will offer to take one of the two in some expressed wishful thinking.
Centre of the Future(tm) Trevor Zegras was also shipped out, bringing draft picks and Ryan Poeling back from Philadelphia. He was saying some of the right things under Cronin, but is an excellent example of a team not quite knowing how to treat a young star. Let him be free and feed his creativity? Put clamps on so he learns defence and structure to go with it? Neither team more player seemed to be having much fun.
Poeling has been finding some scoring touch with the Flyers, but he's not the player Zegras is. But maybe him, Chris Kreider, and Mikael Granlund can fill in the blanks. Sure, Kreider and Granlund are older, but they have plenty of youth coming around, too. Leo Carlson proved he's already at an NHL level, and if they can get Mason McTavish's name on paper, then their centre depth looks solid.
On defence, the name on everyone's lips was "Who?" As in "Who the hell is Jason LaCombe?" They brought in Jacob Trouba in case Radko Gudas got injured, and they need someone to buy the beer. That's going to be interesting to watch.
We want the day when both Seattle and Vancouver are good teams. We really do. But they aren't going to be the reason the Canucks miss the playoffs just yet.
Andre Burakovsky is out for cap space, which they still have. Frédérick Gaudreau is a nice pickup for cheap as a bottom-six centre. Ryan Lindgren is fine as a middle-pair defenceman. But most of this year isn't going to be about anyone brought in. Though getting Matt Murray in case Phillip Grubauer has another disastrous year isn't a bad net.
They want - need - their young forwards to all take another step. Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, and Kaapo Kakko are talented guys, as befits their relative draft positions. But one of them needs a real breakout year, and not just for now, but for the future. Otherwise, this is a team loaded with middle-six guys, middle-pair defence, and a 1B netminder in Joey Daccord.
Here's to hoping we can get a good hate on with our neighbours!
Last, but not... Well, probably not least. The San Jose Sharks finished nine points back of Chicago and sixteen back of Nashville. There is a strange juxtaposition here, though, highlighted by those cities. San Jose had fun. Yes, it was a terrible end result, but the fans were warned well beforehand, and the future was visible on the ice.
Two of their star kids led the team in scoring, but you could make an argument that their MVP was Tyler Toffoli. The Sharks did everything a "tanking" team should: lots of one-year deals, signing veterans to trade them, testing a LOT of their AHL players, and playing their youth. And in the middle of it all, Toffoli was out there with Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund and Will Smith, keeping the kids on an even keel.
They had a massive amount of turnover and are clearly aiming for at least one more year of entertaining, if not completely successful, hockey. I don't know if anyone in the league likes scoring more than Adam Gaudette. Jeff Skinner's career is on life support after FINALLY getting a taste of playoff hockey and deciding it was overrated. Ryan Reaves is, well, Ryan Reaves. Will Philip Kurashev help? Hey, why not?
The defence looks more interesting, too. Grabbing Nick Leddy off waivers is an easy decision when you can afford it - and these guys can afford a LOT. Dmitry Orlov is a serious pick-up, even at 34 years old. John Klingberg is looking to rebuild his value so he isn't best known as an agent's horror story for recalcitrant signings.
In net, five goaltenders got into eight or more games, and I don't blame them one bit. This year, stability should be the rule. Yaroslav Askarov is an excellent prospect, and getting backed up by/splitting time with Alex Nedeljkovic will give the Sharks a chance most nights.
Vancouver has more top-end talent than enough of these teams to make the playoffs. But the game requires more than talent. The Canucks can have one or two things go wrong and still make it, so long as those things going wrong aren't one of three players. So we're ending up with Schrödinger's Playoffs, either making it or not, and we won't know which until we look.
I suspect the team will add a player, specifically at centre, before the season is done, but probably not before it starts. They have a nice chunk of cap space right now, and they'll let that accrue until the trade deadline looms. Not at the deadline, of course, because this is still Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin. But maybe in late January.
As for the rest, Anaheim can take Calgary's spot, and Edmonton can take LA's. Heck, if it is a good year for the Canucks, they could well bump the Kings to fourth. But the top stays at the top and the bottom stays there. It's gonna be interesting.
Without mentioning the utter ludicrousness of Sportsnet's sudden jump in cost - The Hockey Guy does a fine job of that - we're going to pretend we have enough money to choose which Canucks games we'd watch live.
What are the big matches you'd shell out for? Which teams entice you to spend the time and money, home or away? Here are my picks.
There are a couple things to note in the upcoming season's schedule that aren't specific to individual games. The Olympics happening in February means a compressed schedule, and things can get a bit weird.
For Vancouver, the usual extended road trips are here, no surprise. Two five-game jaunts, taking eight and nine games, are joined by one with six games in ten. Expect a full 23-man roster and maybe an extra player to accompany them on each of those runs.
Where it gets weird is the TWO eight-game home stands. These aren't the blessings you might think. Players use the time away to have some team bonding time and just as a change from the distractions of home.
The first, happening in the second half of January, comes on the heels of that six-game roadie. The team will have exactly one day off before the Stanley Cup Runner-Up Oilers come to town. Then it's a game every two days until the Olympic break, including the final two on the road against Utah and Vegas. Sixteen games in 30 days is rough, home or abroad.
The second fills up March, and has three two-day breaks woven in, thankfully enough. But asking season ticket holders to show up that often is something of a challenge in itself. Even if the tickets are already paid for, that's asking for a lot of money and a lot of time. On the other hand, if you're a "secondary market" purchaser, this might be your year!
That's if things are going well. After January 16th, Vancouver has 22 home games and 13 road games. For those of us lacking basic math skills, that means before then are 19 home games and 28 on the road. For a team desperate for a quick start, they're in for a challenge.
Well, yeah. They opened last season against the Flames at home, and things didn't go all that great. Artūrs Šilovs was handed the starter's role but couldn't keep a 4-1 first-period lead safe. That 6-5 overtime loss really helped set the mood for the upcoming campaign. So, no pressure presumed starter Thatcher Demko. Assuming he's there this time.
Finally! The long-awaited Filip Chytil Revenge Game! Assuming he's not out with a concussion at that time, which is why he missed returning to Madison Square Garden last season. He'll be a month into the higher expectations of an increased role, and it's probably not a bad time to assess how he's handling it.
In other news, J.T. Miller (remember him?) will be coming to town for the first time since his trade. Predicting something similar to Bo Horvat's return, with plenty of applause during his video tribute, followed by loud booing whenever he touches the puck or a Canucks player. C'mon, it's J.T. Miller. He expects nothing less.
Otherwise known as the Connor Bedard Emotional Support Fans Night. The Blackhawks aren't looking a whole lot better than they have in his previous two seasons with them. Maybe they'll equal last year's nine-point jump, which would put them... eighth in the division again! Seriously, it's hard not to feel for the guy
San Jose finished in an even worse position than Chicago, but at least Macklin Celebrini seems to be having fun.
If anyone from either the Lightning or Panthers offers to show you "this new camp we just built" - IT'S NOT A PRACTICE FACILITY! DO NOT GO!
Rick Tocchet got a chance to coach his long-time team, and you can't blame him for taking it. Lord knows it's not like he abandoned Vancouver's chaos for the calm, still waters of Philly. The team's a mess, he's their fifth coach in six seasons, and they've missed the playoffs five years running. But he started and finished his career there, playing over 600 regular-season games with the Flyers.
Not a bad time to make him regret his decision. It'll be fun to see how his protégé, Adam Foote, runs the bench against him.
The start of the home stretch. I mentioned this as a dividing line for good reason. The first game home from a long roadie is always tough, and this isn't a weak team to do it against. The Oilers will be a good measuring stick as the Canucks dive into their first eight-game homestand.
These ten games before the Olympic break are going to be a brutal physical test. If they can stand up to it, management may be looking to buy. We all know that Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin like getting their work done early.
If Vancouver's going to make the playoffs, how they perform against the Californian teams will make all the difference. Utah's likely improvement makes the Central Division odds-on to push five teams into the playoffs. That leaves just three spots to fight for in the Pacific. None of Los Angeles, Anaheim, or San Jose is a favourite to take that spot, but that just makes it all the more important to harvest points from them when you can.
Anaheim's fans are getting restless, and for good reason. After missing the playoffs for seven straight seasons, they want to see the team show signs of life NOW. San Jose's six-season streak is similarly awful, but the fans there like that they got Celebrini. They don't want the team to try for Gavin McKenna, too.
As for the Kings, there's only so much Darcey Keumper can do behind that blue line. Unless they improve it dramatically, their very talented forwards may go into open revolt against Jim Hiller's "No one scores after we score once" tactics.
The Kings have made the playoffs in each of the last four years, but have also exited early every time. As the Canucks know full well, a discordant room could break that first streak.
Certain media personalities have taken it upon themselves to defend the 4:00 start time whenever the Toronto Maple Leafs come to town. "Oh, we can go to dinner afterwards!" "Oh, we can go out to the clubs afterwards!" "What's so bad about getting there at three?"
Some of us have to work for a living, GUYS, that's what's so bad about it. A bunch of us work for people who frown upon employees watching the game while drawing a paycheque. Or we want to end the evening at the hockey game, just like the games we see during the week. Sheesh.
With the trade of Dakota Joshua as a salary cap dump, there is certainly another move coming. When, exactly, who knows, but at least if an opportunity arises, Vancouver will have the means to take advantage. That probably means another active player getting traded away, at least if the team wants a second-line centre. Those don't come with a $3.25 million cap hit.
Maybe we'll add a Nils Höglander Revenge Game onto this list before puck drop in October.
It's probably not going to be an enjoyable day for Canucks fans (to be fair, is it ever?), but don't worry. We're here, and you can join us in laughing at all the other teams also screwing up their rosters.
Alright, a little bit of housekeeping before we get started. If you haven't already seen it, we've welcomed a new writer to our staff. Thursday's been a part of the readership of NM for a long time, and we're thrilled to have her come aboard and provide a fresh perspective to the coverage. Also, there's no possible way that she's as angry and bitter as the rest of us, so that's really nice for all of you. Good to have you on the team, Thursday. Sorry we swear so much. It's Francesco's fault.
Anyway, she broke down the Canucks draft experience, so if you haven't read it, please do. Overall, I think that was a decent job by JR & PA. I mean, we were expecting that 1st rounder to get traded away, so to get what looks like a solid prospect at 15 is good, as well as a goaltender that Ian Clark raves about with their second pick. If Clark likes him, there's something there, and that bodes well for the future.
So far, the Canucks have been re-upping some of the Abbotsford crew, including a number of key pieces from their Championship run. The most notable is a one year, one way deal for Max Sasson, with a $775k AAV. This is a chance for Sasson, who performed well during his call ups and was a rock throughout the playoffs for Abbotsford, to earn a multi year deal, and I'm here for it. Also re-signed were Aatu Raty, Arshdeep Bains, and Guillaume Brisebois.
The full NMC on Elias Pettersson's contract has kicked in, and we should hear the announcement of a new deal for Thatcher Demko as early as today, as well as the official announcement of Conor Garland's deal, but the stark reality of the Canucks losing the production of Brock Boeser and Pius Suter is a little sobering to say the least. For a team that struggled to score this past season, it's gonna take a hell of a day from Patrik Allvin to give Canucks fans hope heading forward.
There's also word that Arturs Silovs is being shopped around, and I get this. It's a valuable asset that could help bring in an improvement that we need, and while it would be awesome if there was room for him, the Canucks are likely to go with Demko and Kevin Lankinen, because it's trade Silovs, or trade one of those two, and I don't think they'd be eager to part with either.
The Vancouver Canucks tried to get a deal done, they really did. But in the end, it came down to value. A deal wasn't there, and they didn't force it. Frankly, it's a refreshing change from, well, whatever the hell went on before this management group showed up.
I am not a scout, so grain of salt when I talk about the prospects Vancouver drafted. Some I've seen through the screen, most of this is from reading folks who know more than I do.
This here is all about compiling information from others, both paid and freely available. Highlight reels are fun, but they aren't scouting reports.
Braeden Cootes is a 17-year-old captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds, a team that had difficulty scoring last year. Their 212 goals mark was better than just five teams, and none of them made the playoffs. They did let other teams know they were on the ice, being the only ones to break 1000 minutes in penalties. Fortunately, none of that particular responsibility fell on Cootes' shoulders.
He led the team in scoring in the regular season and in the playoffs, but at this point, that's neither here nor there. When he gets to Vancouver, he's going to be fun to watch for one reason: he forces opponents to stop him. If he's going to the net, then he's probably already dished off the puck and is there to wreak havoc.
Going by Thomas Drance's article in The Athletic, he's a pain in the ass to play shinny against, too. It's not just that he likes winning; he hates it when other teams do at his expense.
“When it comes to that, we didn’t make him captain,” La Forge said, “he made himself the captain of our team with the way he carries himself … He was the captain before we gave him the ‘C.’”
A few years ago, you may remember, the Canucks had themselves a wee conundrum: they ran out of goalies. No team should ever have to panic because Mike McKenna isn't available to them, but there they were in 2018-19. Since that day, Vancouver has made sure to have plenty of goaltenders in the stable.
Alexei Medvedev got a 50/50 split with senior goalie Austin Elliott on an excellent London Knights squad. He was a bit boom-or-bust, but that's not a surprise for a 17-year-old. Elliott's gone next season, so Medvedev will have every chance to play the bulk of games next year.
Tracks the puck well, loves challenging the shooter, likes to use his stick, sometimes anticipates a cross-ice pass early. Lots to like, but kinda want to see how he does on a worse team.
I know bupkis about prep school hockey, and Kieren Dervin only played 10 OHL regular season games to go with 11 playoff ones. According to the folks who watched him, he's a two-way forward with good positioning. He finds a way to support the play at either end, moving to where he's needed most for a pass or to disrupt play.
With many Kingston forwards aging out, he'll get plenty of opportunity to grow his offence next year.
Wilson Björck is fast, versatile, really light for a 19-year-old, and wasn't drafted last year. Was great in the Swedish U20 league, didn't leave much of an impression in the Allsvenskan. It'll be interesting to see what he does in the NCAA, but if he makes the NHL, maybe it'll be as a Nils Åman? Which is excellent for a 5th-round pick.
Anyone picked this late is usually "he does this one thing well, and we'll see" player. Gabe Chiarot is a defence-first winger who hates it when the other team has the puck. He initiates contact and has added some scoring to his game, but his calling card is forechecking.
Their last pick was Matthew Lansing from the USHL. The reviews on him are pretty wild, usually versions of "yes, he plays defence, but what else?" that change to "Oh, hey! Look at this guy!" The difference is he changed leagues, moving from the US national development team to Fargo in the US high school system. Increased opportunity let him show off his skating and puck-handling ability. Still a longshot, but...
A left-handed, 6'4" Russian centre who didn't want to play in Chicago? Sure, why not?
Can't really see the Canucks needing a lot of help in their bottom-six, but centres can be moved to wing more easily than the reverse. At a cost of "futures", taking a chance on a 2021 sixth-round pick seems simple enough. The team has a lot of contract space.
The Canucks kept their pick, and for the first time in over a decade, selected a WHL'er. Today should be where the excitement is, with the Canucks on the board for five more picks (at the moment)
I was about 75% certain that there was going to be some sort of deal, but in the end, the Canucks used their first round pick, and seem to have gotten a pretty solid choice at Number Fifteen. Braeden Cootes is a Centre from the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds, and the scouting on him is that he's a smaller Bo Horvat type player. Absolutely tenacious forechecking, a solid compliment of offensive skills, and a complete two way game. The kind of player that goes full bore every shift. And a right hand shot, to boot!
He was the youngest captain in WHL last season, and also donned the 'C' for Team Canada at the World Under 18's, leading them to a gold medal, leading the team in scoring, and was the best faceoff man in the tournament.
The Canucks will pick at 47, 65, 143, 175, and 207. That Number 65 pick is the first pick of the third round, so pretty much like having two second round picks. What we need to watch for is deals. How many of these picks will get used, and who will the Canucks be moving to try and add pieces/fill gaps on a team that has to be better this season. I would suggest girding one's loins for Arturs Silovs, based on his stellar play this post season for Abbotsford, though the notion that the team could part with Thatcher Demko isn't unreasonable for the right price.
The phones are being worked, the data is being crunched, and good ideas are no doubt being vetoed. God, it's tiring being a Canucks fan. Well, let's get this over with.
The first round of the annual NHL entry draft is tonight in Los Angeles, and it's still unclear if the Canucks plan to move their 15th overall pick. With the possible departure of Brock Boeser looming, the Canucks could end up looking a lot different next season. We've seen Thatcher Demko, Arturs Silovs, and even Elias Pettersson being mentioned, and the Canucks rumored to be looking at Marco Rossi and Mat Barzal, this could be a very interesting few days. Please note, I said interesting, not joyful.
One thing that did happen today was an announcement from the league and the NHLPA of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
We'll need someone a little more savvy to dissect this, but if you think that the last line is going to stop the rampant juicing of the LTIR rules, you're kidding yourself. The Vegas Golden Knights are probably on the phone with Mark Stone right now, explaining how they're going to do it.
So while we wait to see what they'll do, let's say they do keep the pick. Who's going to be available that meets their needs? There's a couple nice options at C in the WHL in Victoria's Cole Reschny, and Brandon's Roger McQueen. Reschny was outstanding at the World Under 18's for Canada, and McQueen, while missing a large chunk of time this season, is 6'5" with a total skills package that could make him worth the risk if he's still available.
We'll have an additional thread for the rest of the draft tomorrow, and try and get you info on the Canucks picks, as well as any deals that go down.
History was made in Charlotte, NC last night, as the Abbotsford Canucks won the Calder Cup, a first for the Abbotsford franchise and the Canucks system.
ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS 3 CHARLOTTE CHECKERS 2 (Canucks win series 4-2)
Being a Canucks fan over the year has trained us all to expect disappointment. Last night, everything changed. Linus Karlsson, as he's done throughout this playoff run, came through with a massive goal late in the second, and the Canucks, thanks to some outstanding defensive play and another amazing performance from playoff MVP Arturs Silovs, held on for the 3-2 win.
There are so many incredible stories with this team, that all culminated in this moment. It starts with Abbotsford GM bringing in local boy and member of that 2011 Cup run, Manny Malhotra to head up the coaching staff. They added other BC born and raised pieces, assembling a team that didn't look like it would be capable of this at the start. On January 4th, they had more losses than regulation wins, but then something changed. Two long winning streaks, as the team, to a man, bought in to what Malhotra and his coaching staff were trying to implement.
That led to 5 series wins, and going 16-8 over that stretch. As evidenced by his winning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy for AHL playoff MVP, Arturs Silovs was an absolute beast in the post season. Five shutouts, a 2.01 GAA and .931 sv% was the driving force for this team. Silovs gave them a chance to win every night, and most importantly, he bounced back from losses, and the Canucks didn't lose two games in a row for the entire run.
And then there was the offense, led by the leading scorer of the playoffs, Linus Karlsson. His game winner was so fitting, giving him 14-12-26 in 24 playoff performances. Arshdeep Bains wasn't far behind, his play an absolute catalyst for the Canucks offense on this run. Bains had two assists last night to leave him with 7-17-24. While it was absolutely a team effort, the play of Sammy Blais, who was an absolute terror physically along with scoring some huge goals, Max Sasson, and Phil DiGiuseppe were also bringing their absolute best every night.
On defense, shot blocking and working hard to neutralize some of the most lethal scorers in the AHL was a task they handled well, as we saw guys like Jett Woo, Akito Hirose and Kirill Kudryavtsev step up big time. A great mix of seasoned vets at both the AHL and NHL level, along with a youth movement in the Canucks that is going to help make the parent club better down the road was what helped them to this amazing moment.
So, with that, we await the celebration to come in Abbotsford when the boys arrive home. It's a week until free agency starts, and there are a metric fuckton of questions facing the Canucks and how they're going to fix the disaster that was this past season. For now though, enjoy this. Let's hope it's a sample of what we've been dying to see, for so long now.
When the Utica Comets made the AHL Finals back in 2015, we could see that while it was good for the franchise, having the affiliate closer to home was vital to long term development and success. And in just four years, Ryan Johnson, Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin have done that. The support of the community for this team, as well as from Canucks fans across the province (and elsewhere!) have also been massive in helping this team grow into champions.
As for us, we're likely going to take a couple days off. With all of us dealing with various challenges at the moment, a little break is well deserved. So, on behalf of Jimmi, Westy and myself, thanks to all of you who still come round to see what we have to say. We love ya for it.
There's been one thing missing from this amazing run by the Abbotsford Canucks, and unfortunately on Saturday night, it made an appearance. Up until Game Five, there hadn't been a single instance of Canuck Luck, but that goal in overtime had this cursed franchise's fingerprints all over it.
Before we get into the preview, I want to apologize for not having a game thread available for Game Five. Early Saturday morning, our dog Grady passed, and I just wasn't able to get it done for you. Grady suffered from Mega Esophagus, a condition that is usually a death sentence for dogs. A diagnosis will often lead to the dog being put down, because of the short life expectancy, as well as the amount of time and energy that goes into the day to day care of a dog with ME. Add in that even our veterinarian knew little about it, and we had to rely on Facebook and Reddit groups for info. In spite of that, Grady was able to live a pretty full four years (well beyond the average lifespan of ME afflicted dogs). He went through a lot, but was always very affectionate and playful, right to the end. If you have a dog that regurgitates frequently, please have them checked for signs of ME. Thank you, Grady. You came into our lives after the sudden death of our dog Chyna, and helped heal the pain of that loss. You really were the best boy, and we already miss you more than you could ever know.
ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS (3-2) vs CHARLOTTE CHECKERS (2-3)
BOJANGLES' COLISEUM, CHARLOTTE, NC
4:00 PDT/ 7:00 EDT
RADIO: SPORTSNET 650 TV: FLOHOCKEY.TV
There are some pretty shitty ways to lose a hockey game, and brother, that was one of them. Talk about a classic Canucks goal. Just awful, given how Abbotsford had been controlling the run of play in that overtime period, and especially that another goal for the Charlotte Checkers had come after Victor Mancini had blown a tire, setting up a scoring opportunity.
Still, despite the way that game ended, the Canucks are in a good place. Charlotte has to win three in a row, something that hasn't happened to Abbotsford since a four game skid at the end of February. They've been the best team in the AHL since that time, and even with the hostile crowd and shitty ice conditions, I feel confident that Manny Malhotra's crew are going to shake off the loss and come out strong against the Checkers tonight.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
This one's for Grady. Love you, buddy.
Enjoy the game, everyone! Go Canucks Go!
The Canucks were looking to regain control of the series with home ice, and boy did they ever! A huge five goal third period en route to a 6-1 win has given them a 2-1 series lead and a chance to move within a game of their first Calder Cup title tonight.
ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS (1-1) vs CHARLOTTE CHECKERS (1-1)
ABBOTSFORD CENTRE, ABBOTSFORD, BC
7:00 PDT/ 10:00 EDT
RADIO: SPORTSNET 650 TV: FLOHOCKEY.TV
While they got some assists from their depth players, it was the best that they have to offer that led the way again for the Abbotsford Canucks in that 6-1 win in Game Three over the Charlotte Checkers. Four point games from Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson, and Arturs Silovs stopped 28 of 29 Charlotte shots in the win.
Tonight's game is pivotal for the Canucks. A win sets up a chance to win the Cup at home. A loss ties the series and ensures that even if they win, it's gonna be in North Carolina. And with temperatures in the rink hitting 30C during Game Two, that's some pretty strong motivation to end this in the next two games.
Given how well they're playing, and no injuries to speak of, they should be rolling with the same lines tonight again. Watch for Charlotte to try and get their power play on the ice as much as possible tonight, so in other words, we would advise against a drinking game that involves shots every time a Checkers player loses their helmet.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Time for some homegrown metal for ya. Off 'Fire Up The Blades', this is 'Trial Of Champions' by the almighty THREE INCHES OF BLOOD!
Enjoy the game, everyone! Go Canucks Go!
This could be the end of the road for the Oilers tonight, as they hope to force a seventh game against the Panthers. And later tonight, the Abbotsford Canucks are at home after picking up the split in Charlotte. It's Game Three of the Calder Cup Finals!
EDMONTON OILERS (2-3) vs FLORIDA PANTHERS (3-2)
AMARANT BANK ARENA, SUNRISE, FL
5:00 PM PST/ 8:00 PM EST
TV: SPORTSNET, CBC
The dreams of another Canadian team trying valiantly to bring the Stanley Cup back home could die tonight. It's alright though, because it's just the Edmonton Oilers.
I mean sure, the Oilers have put forth an effort. The problem is that it's just not enough. Between mistakes, bounces, and just straight up, good ol' fashioned head to head hockey, the Panthers have been better. And now this could be the end of it tonight, as Florida looks to win their second straight Cup, over the Oilers no less.
So how are the Oilers going to be able to force a seventh and final game? Well, first off they need the best game of his life from Stuart Skinner. If he's not the best player on the ice tonight, the chances of the Oilers pulling this off are slim for sure. And let's not kid ourselves, that's a pretty dire situation that you have to rely on younger, calmer Mike Smith to save your season.
They need to stay out of the penalty box. The Panthers have been feasting on the Oilers lack of discipline, and that absolutely must change tonight if they want to be playing back in Edmonton in a winner take all rematch from last year.
LINEUPS
Stanley Cup Final, Game 6
8 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS
Florida leads best-of-7 series 3-2
Oilers projected lineup
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Corey Perry
Evander Kane -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kasperi Kapanen
Jeff Skinner -- Adam Henrique -- Trent Frederic
Vasily Podkolzin -- Mattias Janmark -- Connor Brown
Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse -- Brett Kulak
Jake Walman -- John Klingberg
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Viktor Arvidsson, Troy Stecher, Joshua Brown, Cam Dineen, Ty Emberson, Max Jones, Derek Ryan
Injured: Zach Hyman (dislocated wrist)
Panthers projected lineup
Carter Verhaeghe -- Aleksander Barkov -- Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Brad Marchand
A.J. Greer -- Tomas Nosek -- Jonah Gadjovich
Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola -- Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt -- Dmitry Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
Scratched: Jesper Boqvist, Uvis Balinskis, Jaycob Megna, Mackie Samoskevich, Nico Sturm
Injured: None
Pulling Troy Stecher, who's been decent enough as a third pairing guy in place of John Klingberg, who has been absolutely brutal, is a bit of a head scratcher. No other changes it would seem, for the Oilers, and none for the Panthers.
ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS (1-1) vs CHARLOTTE CHECKERS (1-1)
ABBOTSFORD CENTRE, ABBOTSFORD, BC
7:00 PDT/ 10:00 EDT
RADIO: SPORTSNET 650 TV: FLOHOCKEY.TV
After a tough OT loss in Game Two, the Abbotsford Canucks hope that months of strong, consistent play at home will continue as they host the next three games of this series. Obviously, they'd love to be able to hold home ice advantage and not have to fly across the continent again in this series, so doing the things that have propelled them on this magical run for a shot at their first ever Calder Cup is a must.
They have been getting outstanding performances from their leadership group, but they've also gotten support from the depth guys in their lineup. Jujhar Khaira and Ty Meuller have been outstanding down the stretch, and getting help from back end guys like Victor Mancini and Kirill Kudryatsev has been a huge help. And of course, they wouldn't be here without the play of Arturs Silovs. The Olympics-bound Latvian goalkeeper has been one of the best stories of the playoffs so far.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Featuring the late, great Dave Brockie, here's GWAR demolishing Billy Ocean's 80's party anthem 'Get Out Of My Dreams' (And Into My Car). You're welcome.
Enjoy the game! Go Canucks Go!
